I felt more of a longing for the training itself. Not the time it took, or the way it completely overtook all aspects of my life ... but the routine, the comradierie, the feeling I got when a long run was finally over, and most of all the "well deserved" after run breakfasts. I think the movie encouraged me to participate in more of this part of "the marathon". Running with my friends and actually just enjoying the experience. Thus, for now I think I am going to focus on shorter races that wont be all-consuming and take it from there :)
Back to Running
On Friday I went to the gym as promised, and did 3.1 on the treadmill. I did push is a bit more than normal and paced at 10:30. I am sure I can run a bit faster than that when "pushing" but since I havent been running it was about as much as I was willing to do for now! I also signed up for another race - the Shamrock Shuffle. Beca, Bradley & Cara tried to instill fear in me by suggesting that this race sells out quickly, so I caved. The Shamrock Shuffle is an 8K ... and takes place at the end of March. So hopefully I can work up to a 5 miler by then ;)Photos courtesy of xpistwv and mxruben.
5 comments:
Yes Grasshopper, it's not the destination that's important, but the journey!
With 3.1 on a treadmill now, you'll be in great shape by the time the Shamrock rolls around.
Good luck and have fun improving!
I don't want to avenge Chicago either. At least not right now. Maybe in a few years I'll have my vengeance.
You so summed up what I've been feeling. I don't miss the training, I don't miss the amount of time it took, but I do miss the routine. The feeling after running further than you've ever run before.
I have no desire to run Chicago this year, and can't say if that will ever change for any future years. I was too scarred by that event and will probably stick with smaller ones like Grand Rapids, or maybe the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon. Again, not this year though.
I will say, having just run my first 5K week back, the first thing I did when I got home (other than try to warm up, it was -3F out) was look online for the next one. They are fun - you still get that pre-race vibe, the anticipation in the start corral. It just doesn't take as long.
Its good to see I have company - with my running group I am the outcast. They ALL are talking about Chicago ... except me :) It's also nice to know that we all (though we complain each step of the way) gain a lot from the training process, ultimately looking back at it fondly!
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